Kniphofia plant named ‘Fire Glow’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct  Kniphofia  plant characterized by its massive blooming from August through September, compact habit with multiple crowns, narrow, grassy leaves, bicolor red and yellow flowers, and excellent vigor.

Botanical denomination: Kniphofia spp.

Cultivar designation: ‘Fire Glow’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct Kniphofia, and given the cultivar name is ‘Fire Glow’. Kniphofia is in the family Asphodelaceae. ‘Fire Glow’ is a hybrid resulting from a planned breeding program to produce compact, reblooming Kniphofia. The cross was made using the following proprietary, unreleased plants: Kniphofia K10-1, as the seed parent, and Kniphofia K10-2, as the pollen parent. It was selected for best habit, flower color, reblooming, and crown count from many seedlings of the cross in Canby, Oreg.

Compared to Kniphofia ‘Bressingham Comet’ (an unpatented plant), the new cultivar flowers massively in late summer and fall rather than sporadically through the summer. The inflorescences of the new cultivar are bicolor orange and yellow rather than red and yellow.

Compared to Kniphofia ‘Ember Glow’, U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 13/066,157, the new cultivar has inflorescences that are bicolor red and yellow rather than orange and yellow.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The new cultivar is unique and characterized by:

-   -   1. massive blooming from August through September in Canby,         Oreg.     -   2. compact habit with multiple crowns     -   3. narrow, grassy leaves     -   4. bicolor red and yellow flowers     -   5. excellent vigor

This new cultivar has been reproduced only by asexual propagation (division, tissue culture). Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the new cultivar. Asexual propagation by leaf cuttings, tissue culture, and division using standard techniques as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The photograph shows a plant of a two-year-old Kniphofia ‘Fire Glow’ in the ground in the trial field in September in Canby, Oreg.

DETAILED PLANT DESCRIPTION

The following is a detailed description of the new Kniphofia cultivar based on observations of one-year-old specimens grown from tissue culture, grown outside in the garden in sun in Canby, Oreg. The color descriptions are all based on The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 5^(th) edition.

-   Plant:     -   -   Type.—Rhizomatous herbaceous perennial.         -   Hardiness.—USDA Zones 6 to 9.         -   Size.—Grows to 66 cm wide and 50 cm tall from the top of the             soil to the top of the foliage.         -   Crown #.—About 11.         -   Form.—Upright and clumping. -   Leaf:     -   -   Type.—Simple.         -   Shape.—Strap-like.         -   Arrangement.—Basal rosette.         -   Blade size.—Grows to 56 cm long and 16 mm wide.         -   Margins.—Entire.         -   Apex.—Acuminate.         -   Base.—Clasping.         -   Surface texture.—Glabrous on both surfaces.         -   Venation.—Parallel.         -   Color.—Top and bottom side closest to Green 137A. -   Inflorescence:     -   -   Type.—Spike-like scapose raceme.         -   Number of flowers per raceme.—About 70.         -   Inflorescence.—Grows to 16 cm long and 5 cm wide.         -   Peduncle description.—Grows to 51 cm long and 8 mm wide,             glabrous, Yellow Green 144A.         -   Pedicle description.—1 mm to 2 mm long, glabrous, Greyed             Orange 167B.         -   Bloom time.—August through September in Canby, Oreg.         -   Lastingness.—An inflorescence lasts for 2 to 4 weeks             depending on the temperature. -   Flower bud:     -   -   Size.—25 mm long and 3 mm wide.         -   Shape.—Cylindrical.         -   Surface texture.—Glabrous.         -   Color.—Top ¾ Orange Red 34A to Orange Red 32A on bottom ¼. -   Flower:     -   -   Type.—Actinomorphic.         -   Shape.—Cylindrical and tubular.         -   Size.—Grows to 30 mm deep and 6.5 mm wide.         -   Surface texture.—Glabrous inside and outside.         -   Corolla description.—6 lobed fused tepals, 28 mm long and 7             mm wide, tube 26 mm long and 5 mm wide, lobes reflex             slightly, each 2 mm wide and 2.5 mm long, shape ovate,             margin entire, tip acute, glabrous on both sides; outside             and inside color Orange 28A on upper side to 28C on lower             side, older flowers Orange 26B on top side to Yellow Orange             22B on lower side.         -   Pistil description.—One, 27 mm long, ovary 3 mm long 2 mm             wide, Green Yellow 1A, style 24 mm long, Yellow 2C on bottom             ⅔ to Yellow Orange 22A on top ⅓, stigma White 155A.         -   Stamen.—6, 32 mm long, filaments 31 mm long, Green White 1D,             anthers 1.5 mm long and Yellow Orange 14C, pollen Orange             22A.         -   Fragrance.—None. -   Fruit and seed: None seen. -   Pest and diseases: Pests and diseases are infrequent on Kniphofia     spp. No problems have been observed on this plant grown under     commercial conditions in Canby, Oreg. 

1. A new and distinct Kniphofia plant as herein shown and described. 